Learn and Defend the Truth
Notes
Transcript
And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
Luke had illustrated the spread of the gospel from the Jews to the Samaritans to the Gentiles. Yet a major problem remained: Some Jewish Christians, along with non-Christian Jews, believed Gentiles needed to keep aspects of the Mosaic law to be saved. Acts 15 records how the apostles and church in Jerusalem resolved the matter.
Problematic Teaching
Problematic Teaching
The Claim
The Claim
And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
While Paul and Barnabas were ministering in the church at Antioch, Jews from Jerusalem traveled over 300 miles to Antioch. The Judean Jews claimed some Jewish practices were essential for Salvation, beginning with circumcision. In the Old Testament, circumcision served as a sign of God’s covenant with Israel. During the New Testament period, some Jews had reduced salvation to the simple practice of circumcision.
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
Circumcision can’t save a person. A person depending on circumcision is responsible for keeping the entire law. No one can keep the whole law. A person saved by grace gains nothing by being circumcised.
Believers are saved by grace through faith. Paul later wrote that anyone who adds works to a faith profession demonstrates his or her lack of true saving faith. A person adding any work to his or her salvation doesn’t fully understand salvation.
The Conflict
The Conflict
When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
Paul and Barnabas recognized right away the problem with adding anything to the gospel. When the teachers from Jerusalem refused to admit they were wrong, Paul defended the gospel and proposed a Jerusalem council. He made plans to travel to Jerusalem with the teachers to settle the matter.
And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
While traveling, Paul and Barnabas talked with believers in Phoenicia and Samaria along the way. They revealed to them the gospel’s spread to Gentiles, a repot the believers received with gladness. No doubt those conversations help prove Paul’s point to the Jews from Jerusalem that salvation has nothing to do with any kind of work on our part.
After arriving in Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas reported to the gathering council what God had done through them. As they spoke, they identified additional resistance from believers who had been Pharisees.
And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
The Pharisees could see in Scripture that God still had plans for the Jews and that those plans involved Gentiles coming to Faith.
And it shall come to pass in the last days, That the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow unto it.
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, Which shall stand for an ensign of the people; To it shall the Gentiles seek: And his rest shall be glorious.
The Pharisees concluded that God must want believers to identify as Jews in the present. The Pharisees couldn’t see how Gentiles could be saved apart from any identification with Jewish circumcision and law.
The apostles understood that the Pharisees were misapplying prophecies concerning Israel’s future. They set out to prove God began a new program with the church and that salvation had nothing to do with circumcision and the law of Moses.
Powerful Testimonies
Powerful Testimonies
And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
On the Spirit’s coming to Gentiles
On the Spirit’s coming to Gentiles
And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Peter addressed the council after a lot of back and forth. He recounted the vision he had from God and God’s instructions to go to the Gentile Cornelius with the gospel in Acts 10.
Peter recalled how God sent the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles to signify they had been saved in the same manner as Jewish believers. God sees the heart. He can’t be fooled or ticked into thinking someone is saved. He wouldn’t have sent the Holy Spirit to Gentiles who had not trusted in Jesus.
Petter added that the Holy Spirit treated Jews and Gentiles the same.
On the Law’s Burden on Gentiles
On the Law’s Burden on Gentiles
Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Peter went on to point out that the law brings an unbearable burden. He questioned why anyone would try to put a heavy, unbearable yoke on the necks of Gentiles who wanted to become believers.
A farmer put a yoke on a pair of animals to harness the animal’s power and accomplish what he could not do on his own. Yokes were not made for people. A farmer and his wife would struggle just to stand under the weight of a yoke much less pull a plow. Peter likened the yoke to the law of Moses. He rightly said neither Jew’s fathers nor the current generation were able to bear the yoke. The law simply revealed to the Jews that they needed help. Jews could never keep the law and become righteous on their own. Sin made them powerless to save themselves.
Imagine being offered great reward but then bing told you had to earn it by picking up a gigantic boulder, carrying it to the ocean, and dropping it in. You wouldn’t even try because your strength it would be far to hard. That’s what Petter wanted to communicate about the inability of someone to be saved through keeping the law.
Jesus died in our place, paying for our sin, God now offers salvation by His grace to Jews and Gentiles alike. To offer something by “grace” means to offer it as an already purchased gift.
Positive Takeaways
Positive Takeaways
Gospel Singularity
Gospel Singularity
Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
James moved to the conclusion of the Jerusalem council by strongly affirming Gentile salvation apart from circumcision and the Mosaic law.
James told the Jews who were harassing and annoying the Gentile believers to knock it up.
The Gentiles were turning to God with genuine faith. They lacked nothing. The same gospel applied to all people, regardless of their ethnicity.
James also reminded the Gentiles to abstain from immorality, a sin that was part of their worship when they were pagans. Immorality always violates God’s standard of holiness.
General Satisfaction
General Satisfaction
Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
The apostles and church members all agreed all agreed to carry out James’s proposal. They sent a letter to Antioch by Paul and Barnabas and two other witnesses. The council’s decision brought in the church.
Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
The council clearly indicated that the Judaizers, those who wished to make the Gentiles Jewish, had no authority to burden the Gentile. No one is to place any additional burden on the one who comes to God by faith.